“Did—did anything disturb you?” Judy managed finally.
“I never sleep well the first night in a strange place. I was awake for hours.”
Judy drew a long breath and grinned at Ardeth. But her relief was brief. For Aunt Mattie went on impressively:
“I’m not sure I’ll like this place as well as I thought last night. There’s entirely too much traffic on the side road.”
“You mean the main road, don’t you, Aunt Mattie?” Judy corrected.
Miss Meadows stirred the pot of cereal on the stove. “I mean that highway that runs down the hill toward the river.”
“Why, that’s a private road and it dead-ends,” Judy responded. “There’s never any traffic in that direction.”
“There was last night,” Miss Meadows insisted firmly. “A truck came along the highway and stopped so that the headbeams shone almost directly into my window. The driver flashed them on and off several times as if in signal. Then, the lights were doused, and the truck turned down the side road.”
“I can’t imagine a truck using that road at night,” Judy said thoughtfully. “The road doesn’t go anywhere except to the cave. Perhaps you were mistaken, Aunt Mattie. Don’t you think the truck might have gone on down the main highway?”
“I don’t think so,” Miss Meadows replied. “No, I’m sure the truck turned down the side road.”